Prices for imported slabs, ex-Asia in particular, have improved in the latest deals to Europe, as supply has eased compared to the previous few weeks. Also, some signs of increase have emerged in Asia’s import slab market as a number of sellers have withdrawn offers, but since demand has not increased yet it is too early to talk about any hike in prices.
A deal for 40,000 mt of ex-Vietnam slabs was done to an Italian importer at $600/mt CFR last week. This is $20/mt above the previous contract signed with South Korean supplier POSCO, also to Italy, reported last week. The offers for POSCO, which emerged just after the typhoon damaged the re-rolling equipment of the mill in Pohang, were for October shipment, and after some sales (to Europe and beyond) they have dried up, while the latest offers were at $610/mt CFR Europe, reportedly for November shipment.
In Asia, offers for ex-ASEAN slabs have been reported at $565-570/mt CFR, similar to last week, but if last week it was possible to get $560/mt CFR in negotiations, this week signs of a possible rebound have emerged. “Prices seem to be starting to increase a bit, but we can consider any price increase only after the [Chinese] holidays, if HRC will go up then,” a source from Indonesia said. There have been a limited number of offers for ex-Russia and ex-Iran slabs, which are usually among the lowest in the Asian region. As SteelOrbis reported last week, the previous deal for ex-Russia slabs was done at $490/mt CFR to Southeast Asia, while in the next contracts suppliers will target at least $510/mt CFR, source believe.
The SteelOrbis reference price for imported slab in Southeast Asia has settled at $500-570/mt CFR, up by $10/mt from last week.